Harry Potter and the War Between Good and Evil

As a Jew, I could not help but reflect on the contrasting attitudes between Judaism and the world of Harry Potter towards this epic struggle.

The "Harry Potter" books are not just novels. They are modern fairy tales with predominant spiritual themes. They describe the struggle between good and evil and the ultimate triumph of the good through the courage and ingenuity of the human spirit, and the power of human love.

The survival of the infant Harry against the onslaught of the evil Lord Voldemort that cost the lives of his parents, is repeatedly attributed to the power of his mother's love and her willingness to sacrifice her very life on the altar of this love. [Don't worry -- I can't reveal any secrets about "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," because I haven't been able to get my hands on it yet.]

In each of the stories, Harry and his friends triumph over the evil Lord Voldemort through the spiritual power of goodness implanted in Harry, the strength of the powerful bond of friendship between Harry and the faithful Ron, the ingenuity and the problem-solving ability of the studious Hermione, and the courage of all of them combined.

The genius of the author J.K. Rowling lies in her ability to bring such heavy themes down to earth.

The genius of the author J.K. Rowling lies in her ability to bring such heavy themes down to earth in a way that manages to fascinate children and adults alike.

The theme that particularly grabbed my interest is the struggle of good and evil, which perhaps captures our culture's prevailing attitude. As a Jew, I could not help but reflect on the contrasting attitudes towards this epic struggle between Judaism and the world of Harry Potter.

What struck me first is that the struggle between good and evil is not to be found in the world of Muggles. In the Muggle world, the evil of Voldemort metamorphoses into the stupidity, venality and meanness of Harry's relatives, the Dursleys. These are traits that even the courage and ingenuity of Harry Potter cannot overcome; the only method of dealing with them is escape.

People in the Muggle world -- the real world vs. the magic world -- are either interesting or banal. Those that are banal are narrow and selfish, and there is no way to redeem them. They cannot change or be changed. Those that are interesting are very likely to receive an invitation to attend Hogwarts. Those that are not, can only be handled by keeping one's distance. In the world of the Muggles, everything is destined to remain a muddle.

Thus, the Dursleys remain static. Their connection with Harry -- although they demonstrate an act of great kindness in providing a home for an orphan -- leaves them uninspired. Only their negative traits intensify from book to book. Before our eyes, cousin Dudley grows into a selfish, self-centered, narrow-minded monster with the full encouragement of his parents.

But the Dursleys are presented as banal, not evil.

THE ANSWER TO MEANNESS

In contrast Judaism teaches that the chief purpose of life in this Muggle world is to change such negative character traits. The struggle against venality and small mindedness is also a struggle against evil. The answer to overcoming meanness and stupidity is not to escape into a fascinating magic environment, but to help change the world in which one finds oneself.

One of my main tasks as a Jewish parent is to teach my children the heroism involved in shaping one's character. Just as they must fight their own negativity, they need to learn to regard the venality of others as a quality that all are struggling against. When they do, they acquire the character trait of always judging others favorably, and giving them the benefit of the doubt.

In the world of Hogwarts, where there is a struggle between good and evil, people are not portrayed all that differently either. With the possible exception of Professor Snape, there are no ambiguous characters, nor people who undergo moral character development. From the moment of entry into Hogwarts, every one is fixed in place.

The Sorting Hat divides the eleven-year-old entrants into various houses. In the first three books, there is nothing good about Slytherin, nor is there anything bad about Gryffindor. [The other two houses have yet to play a significant role.] All the Slytherins have an evil and menacing look, with speech patterns to match, while all the Gryffindor characters are ones we can identify with.

In the Harry Potter books, while the good struggles with the evil, the combatants are not free to choose sides.

The good is purely good and the evil is purely evil. There is no area of ambiguity or confusion. While the good struggles with the evil, the combatants are not free to choose sides. They are frozen into their camps by their characters.

Although Dumbledore tells Harry that it is a person's choices that tell us who he really is, Harry's selection of Gryffindor can hardly be called a choice. He was never attracted to Slytherin. Indeed, the fact that the sorting hat detected some Slytherin tendencies in him is a source of anxiety for Harry. Harry has some powers that are normally associated with Slytherins, such as parseltongue, but he does not possess a single negative character trait indicative of the Malfoys, or even Tom Riddle, his supposed counterpart.

This lack of ability to alter one's character and to freely choose sides transforms the epic moral struggle between good and evil into a pure power struggle with no moral implications. Victory hangs on who can come up with stronger magic. The war between good and evil is not a struggle over the hearts and minds of humanity. Each side vies for hegemony over the outside world, nothing more.

Moreover, there is no attempt at redeeming the evil or transforming it. The good is merely maintaining the status quo, and keeping the evil, in the guise of Lord Voldemort, from gaining a foothold. The evil wants to dominate just because it is evil and hates the good and vice versa. They are not contending for some prize either tangible or spiritual that would accrue to the victor. Their only goal is to destroy each other.

There is no evidence of free will, and therefore no moral responsibility. The entire struggle is a glorified Quidditch game; it's all great fun as long as your team wins.

THE STRUGGLE OF THE HEART

In contrast, the essence of all Jewish belief is that the struggle between good and evil is a moral struggle. It takes place in the heart, not in the outside world. The contestants are man's conscience against man's urges, man's spirituality against the physical life force.

According to Jewish perspective, evil is not repulsive. On the contrary, to insure that it has an even chance to present us with free will choices, God made evil attractive, giving it tremendous sex appeal. It is only this attractiveness that levels the playing field and gives evil a fighting chance. The appeal of good is rightness and purity, qualities everyone acknowledges as wonderful, but these appear devoid of fun and of any surface sex appeal.

Evil sizzles with sensual pleasure, while the path of good leads to the spiritual joy.

Evil sizzles with sensual pleasure, while the path of good leads to the spiritual joy associated with connecting with God. There is a war over the soul of man between the pure and the right on the one hand, and the appealing and seductive but wrong on the other.

According to Jewish belief, the focus of the battle between good and evil is not hegemony over the outside world, but over the soul of the human individual and the power it contains.

Human choices contain this "magical" ability to supply power to the negative force. The Torah states that God formed the human being in His own image. (See Genesis, Chapter 1.) This means that God invested us with something resembling His own immense power, making us free agents just like God -- beings with free will.

Free will gives man the power to invest the Divine energy placed under his control as he sees fit. Moreover, decisions regarding the investment of this Divine force are effective and binding. When man invests in the negative drive of evil, he in effect invests this force with his own Divine power.

EVIL WITHIN REFLECTED OUT

The outside world merely conforms to the moral condition of the human spirit. Evil in man is reflected by evil in the world. Evil as presented in the Harry Potter books -- whose ambition is to destroy the good for the sake of its own hegemony -- is not innate to the universe. In reality, evil only comes about through the corruption of the good.

The original will of God at creation only gave the negative force the power to tempt man away from the proper path, nothing more. It was given the power to attract but not to destroy. The destructive power originates in the corrupted human spirit, which is the most powerful force in the created universe. When the negative force created by God to tempt man is bolstered by huge inputs of the human life force, it acquires the power to reshape the world in its own image.

Therefore, it is only after man has made an immoral choice does the negative force (which until then merely tempts) acquire true destructive power. This Divine force in man has the power to fashion everything in the universe, from the sun and moon and the stars to human beings. When man turns over this force to the negative, dark side of creation, evil acquires the ability to reshape the world in its own image.

Only when evil exhausts expends all its life force can the universe rid itself of its malign influence.

Having created this destructive power in the first place by investing the Divine energy in his care in the negative through the power of his free will, man is now doomed to suffer its effects -- as exemplified by Hitler and his Nazi war machine and the other monsters of human history. Only when evil exhausts its resources and expends all the life force that was invested in its acts of pure destruction, can the universe rid itself of its malign influence. Only then does the negative force revert to being merely tempting once again.

REDEEMING VOLDEMORT

The final significant point of divergence between Judaism and the Harry Potter sagas is the ability to repent and reclaim the lost human soul.

Just as man can invest his life force in the wrong place through his free will, he can also reclaim his investment and pull it back again, fighting for the redemption of man's soul. In a Jewish fairy tale, the hero would battle for the soul of Lord Voldemort and attempt to reclaim it for the good. No human being with the power of free will is unredeemable.

Jews recite the following verse twice daily: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your hearts, with all your soul, and with all your resources." (Deut. 6:5) The Talmud (Brochot 9,5) interprets the phrase "with all your hearts" as a reference to the good and evil impulse within man. We are commanded to serve God with our inclination towards evil as well as with our inclination towards good.

No impulse in man is irreclaimable; nothing human is doomed to destruction. Man's mission is to reclaim the negative aspects of his own personality. The mark of the Jewish hero is that he transforms the evil into good and brings all back to God.

In the Harry Potter books, without a moral battle between good and evil, there is no magic in the world. All things are limited to being what they are and nothing more, and the world becomes a boring and colorless place. You have to escape to the realm of magic to make things interesting and discover the potential for transforming existence.

In a Jewish world, where evil can be transformed and reclaimed into good, and where good can be made into evil, this ordinary Muggle world is full of magic. Ordinary life becomes a heroic saga.

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About the Author

While studying at the famed yeshivas of Chaim Berlin, Lakewood and the Mir in Jerusalem, Rabbi Noson Weisz also received a degree in Microbiology from the University of Toronto, MA in Political Science at the New School for Social Research and his LLB from the University of Toronto. Rabbi Weisz is currently a senior lecturer at Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.

Visitor Comments: 18

(18)
Weave,
November 22, 2010 4:40 PM

In Light of All Seven Books However...

While this opinion could potentially be viewed as correct after the publication of only the first three book, it is most obviously erroneous upon finishing the whole series. The marvelous thing about the Harry Potter series it that J.K. Rowling intentionally had the serious mature along with Harry. So, the first books viewed good and evil as clear-cut black and white, with no middle ground in between, and characters were often flat and two dimensional. However, as Harry grows older and wiser, the books reflect his more accurate point of view, and demonstrate how most aspects in life are shades of gray, and the characters become intricate, complex, and three dimensional. Harry and Voldemort are even shown to be extremely similar people in abilities and circumstance- who happened to make entirely different decisions. And, as for Voldemort being irredeemable, that too is disproved. Even though he is a mass-murderer, and has literally fractured his soul, if he demonstrates true remorse (repentance), he can avoid his terrible fate (though such remorse is said to be extremely painful). Quite frankly, freewill is a central theme to the whole latter stage of the series- it is the sole thing (not circumstance or personality) that separates good from evil. And though this mature theme is predominantly demonstrated towards the end of the series, it is still evident in the beginning. When Lilly (Harry's mother) gave up her life for her child, she became, in essence, a sacrificial lamb, whose blood allowed the proverbial angel of death to pass over (an act that is replicated by Harry himself in the final book). Even years later, Voldemort cannot touch Harry because of the blood covering from this ultimate exercise of free will. Thus, it would appear that the world of Judaism an Harry Potter are quite similar indeed.

(17)
,
November 22, 2010 4:39 PM

While this opinion could potentially be viewed as correct after the publication of only the first three book, it is most obviously erroneous upon finishing the whole series. The marvelous thing about the Harry Potter series it that J.K. Rowling intentionally had the serious mature along with Harry. So, the first books viewed good and evil as clear-cut black and white, with no middle ground in between, and characters were often flat and two dimensional. However, as Harry grows older and wiser, the books reflect his more accurate point of view, and demonstrate how most aspects in life are shades of gray, and the characters become intricate, complex, and three dimensional. Harry and Voldemort are even shown to be extremely similar people in abilities and circumstance- who happened to make entirely different decisions. And, as for Voldemort being irredeemable, that too is disproved. Even though he is a mass-murderer, and has literally fractured his soul, if he demonstrates true remorse (repentance), he can avoid his terrible fate (though such remorse is said to be extremely painful). Quite frankly, freewill is a central theme to the whole latter stage of the series- it is the sole thing (not circumstance or personality) that separates good from evil. And though this mature theme is predominantly demonstrated towards the end of the series, it is still evident in the beginning. When Lilly (Harry's mother) gave up her life for her child, she became, in essence, a sacrificial lamb, whose blood allowed the proverbial angel of death to pass over (an act that is replicated by Harry himself in the final book). Even years later, Voldemort cannot touch Harry because of the blood covering from this ultimate exercise of free will. Thus, it would appear that the world of Judaism an Harry Potter are quite similar indeed.

(16)
Judy In Atlanta,
August 8, 2007 11:08 AM

Now that Book 7 is out...

"Spoiler Alert" Please don't read unless you've finished all 7 books!I am still a beginner in Torah study, so I feel a bit funny questioning Rabbi Weisz. Also, time has passed since this article was written so all the books are now complete and perhaps the article is out of date.That being said, I never thought of all Muggles being like the Dursleys, even from the beginning. They were simply overindulgent parents of their child and treated Harry abominably. Much like Cinderella was treated by her "wicked stepmother", and my own father's stepmother treated him. Now of course we know that they took Harry in and that protected him until his 17th birthday so in some way they were generous, even if unwillingly. We also now know that Petunia was extremely jealous of Lily and wanted to go to Hogwarts herself. In addition, even after the lack of discipline and being spoiled, Dudley may have actually turned out o.k.. He was worried about Harry not going with them, though granted he still seemed a bit dense. Even Petunia gave some thought to Harry's well being before rushing off to safety.Through all the books Hermoine is always a champion of those she sees as oppressed (like the House Elves). She is devoted to the causes of doing right. Ron goes through moments of jealousy and even chooses to break off their friendship, only to have thought better of it and returned. Harry has many opportunities to choose between right and wrong. For example, in the first book/movie (Sorcerer's Stone), Voldemort offers to bring back Harry's parents. Harry chooses right. In book/movie 4 (Goblet), Harry chooses to save Cedric in the maze. The journey of growth of characters like Neville and Luna to become brave and righteous is made clear through the 7 books. Dumbledore's faults and his choices to pursue right were explained. The Centaurs, House Elves, and others that joined the fight all chose good instead of evil. (Extra spoiler alert) Even the Malfoys give up the fight because of love for their son. Narcissa pronounces Harry is dead. Finally Harry does offer Voldemort the opportunity for Teshuvah when he asks him to consider remorse.All the books lead up to the ultimate battle in book 7 and to me, there is clear triumph over good versus evil. By the way, the students do have a choice over which house they get into. Harry begs the sorting hat not to put him in Slyterin. At the end of book/movie 2 (Chamber) Dumbledore clearly says that one of the key differences between Harry and Tom Riddle is that Harry did not want to be in Slytherin, and only a true Gryffindor could have pulled the sword out of the sorting hat. Plus,(extra spoiler alert) Harry tells Albus Severus Potter that he can make the choice, as he is about to board the Hogwarts Express.

(15)
Carmen,
July 17, 2007 1:01 PM

about good and evil choices

I disagree that they don;t have a choice in choosing their houses. Harry just wanted to be a normal kid. he didn't care about power and success as long as he had friends like ron. pure souls. Of course it was malfoy's choice to be in slytherin. heis father was there and all other assertive people are. aand people do get a chnace to change. Snape! Snape is given the chance by dumbledore to change his ways. Also, lest we forget, malfoy in the 6th book.

(14)
DovKrulwich,
December 23, 2006 11:32 PM

New book: Harry Potter and Torah

I just released a book called Harry Potter and Torah, a collection of Torah insights related to themes from the Harry Potter series.

www.harrypottertorah.com

All is based solidly on traditional Torah sources.

(13)
Anonymous,
February 25, 2005 12:00 AM

"good guys don't wear white"

I disagree with you about Harry potter showing that the good guy are totally good and the Bad guys are totally bad. What makes the characters and the books so amazing is that the characters are so realistic, they have flaws, they get angry they do things that aren't perfect!

(12)
Anonymous,
May 25, 2004 12:00 AM

why this book ?

I understand the point that you are tring to make but I dont undrstand how you got all of this from a fictional book. I don’t know this for sure but I doubt that whilst she (J.K. Rowling) was writing these books she really intending in all this, about conflict.

(11)
Fran Nowve,
May 24, 2001 12:00 AM

I Have Written a Rebuttal

I have written a rebuttal to this article and displayed it at http://homepage.mac.com/kia/potter/soul.html. I just had too much to say to confine it to this comments box. I think Rabbi Weisz's article is very interesting and thought provoking. I have also linked to it from my Harry Potter site.

(10)
Benzion,
February 22, 2001 12:00 AM

Why I think you are mistaken

Your point about Harry Potter being divided between black and white and good and evil is off base. For a children's book their is a lot of grey.
The main example is Snape which I am glad you mentioned. But their are other characters. What about bad guys like Lucius Malfoy and Peter Petigrew. They are bad but on a very different level from Voldmort. Peter isn't so much evil as a cowared. Lucius may be an ally for right now of Voldmort but he is in it for his own motivation. Demonstrated by how quickly he turned his back on him when he lost power. Then their are characters who are good guys like Barti Crouch Sr. Ludo Bagman and Cornilus Fudge who do bad things some very bad things but thats in book IV.

About redeming Voldmort. You are missing the point Voldmort is the Satanic figure he is the prime corrupter even as a student he was evil.
One good thing about him which you seem to have missed was that he sat out books II and III. His action is very limeted to give him greater punch.

The Dursley's are supposed to be the step mother and step sister family.

(9)
Anonymous,
January 25, 2001 12:00 AM

Don't Count the Muggles Out

While I am sure the author had many other good points, I just couldn't let him slam the muggle world of choice and ethics so that he could hurry on to his own points. Hermione Granger is a muggle and her parents are introduced to us in Gringots Bank exchanging muggle money for the galleons and sickles of the wizard world. These are not people like the Dursleys! Nor is Harry's mother like Petunia. Muggle born she was able to thwart Lord Voldemort's curse on Harry by giving her own life!! No struggle between good and evil in the muggle world? Ha!!! Plenty of struggles -- it is the choices that muggles and wizards make that define who and what we are.....

(8)
Ellen Schor,
January 10, 2001 12:00 AM

Fascinating explanation of Harry Potter books

I wanted to know why these books on magic were controversial and I found out why. I also came to understand the role of evil better, but I still don't like it. I wish G-d had created a world without evil, without the Shoah, and perhaps that is why the magic of Harry Potter books are so appealing.

(7)
Louis N,
August 21, 2000 12:00 AM

Choices

The article stated that

"Although Dumbledore tells Harry that it is a person's choices that tell us who he really is, Harry's selection of Gryffindor can hardly be called a choice. He was never attracted to Slytherin. Indeed, the fact that the sorting hat detected some Slytherin tendencies in him is a source of anxiety for Harry."

Even though the books may be lacking in this area, one could say that the fact that 'choices' are mentioned at all represents an advancement in children's literature where such at issue may not be addressed even superficially.

I am also impressed that the author writes the hero, Harry, and the bad-guy, Valdemort, as being very similar in origin. (In addition to the similarities mentioned at the end of "Chamber of Secrets," in the first book, Harry is given a magic wand that is the "twin" of Valdemort's.)

(6)
,
August 10, 2000 12:00 AM

What does this remind you of . . .

This is series of stories of an unjustly persecuted loser in conventional terms discovering and succeeding a world of significance where those who cannot see more than meets the eye are clods, a world where special people go to special schools to learn ancient and powerful wisdom in special clothes and with special equipment. A place both serious and fun where people yet retain the qualities of nobility and corruption. Hmmm . . .

(5)
Lisa,
August 3, 2000 12:00 AM

okaaaay

I enjoyed reading this article immensely, because the writer at least had read the books before writing on them. I also thought of Harry Potters world like a jewish world, with the constant struggle against evil. however I do feel that the characters have free will. also one cannot really comment until the last book has come out. remember that voldemort is not living, therefore he cannot be killed. therefore harry may resort to trying to turn him to the good side (sounds like the luke/darth vader thing - has anyone noticed the similarity between all this?).
anyway, a good read. I enjoy articles that I can relate to.

(4)
Richard Goetze,
August 3, 2000 12:00 AM

Great thesis, but wait, J.K. Rowling's not finished.

Your article's thesis is expertly developed and well supported but lacks the open-ended analysis that Potter's books deserve. I think J.K. Rowling will
develop a firmer moral matrix as the serial and young Mr. Potter matures. We'll find the hero battling for the soul of Lord Voldemort, yet. And, watch for
Potter's struggle with his evil impulses while navigating adolescence.

Oh, it's a silly-good read too.

(3)
Anonymous,
July 28, 2000 12:00 AM

I disagree with the black and white analysis of the H Potter Books

In your review of the first 3 Harry Potter books I felt that perhaps you erred by ignoring much of the sublety that inhabits the books.

For instance, your comment that 'there is nothing good in Slytherin, and there is nothing bad in Gryffindor' is not quite true. Slytherins prize cleverness above all other traits. Gryffindors prize courage. (Hufflepuffs prize loyalty, Ravenclaws prize intelligence) While cleverness may not be a virtue on the scale of courage or loyalty, I feel certain that JK Rowling intends to portray more than just a highly contrasted image of good and evil. Remeber that Snape saved Harry's life in the first book - an act that's hard to ascribe to a person who is purely evil.

When I read them I find a great deal of 'free will' in the characters. I find that Harry's family faces choices in each book - choices to make Harry a part of the family or a poorly treated outcast. Choices to eat a balanced meal or to stuff on chocolates. Harry faces choices - all of the characters do - and they also makes mistakes.

And I feel that most of the characters do learn from their mistakes - and grow as young people.

I feel that you're doing a lot of subjective editing in order to make the Harry Potter books fit into a Jewish Culture vs. Harry Potter argument - and in so doing you serve neither.

These are just nice, riviting books with a good moral message - I'm thrilled that my nephew is as taken with these as he is with Nintendo.

(2)
Anonymous,
July 25, 2000 12:00 AM

Ouch...it was a little rough landing from my 'high' of just finishing the 4th Harry Potter book, and then reading your essay as a reality check. I do appreciate you pointing out the apparant lack of 'free will' in choosing roles vs. inborn traits of the characters. It is a little too serious, though, for me to ponder for long;as my journey to Hogwarts is a journey to an obvious good vs. evil which I use as an escape from all the gray areas we encounter daily. Thanks for your essay - in book 4 I think you'll see some more opportunities for Good to help Evil overcome itself. In any case...enjoy!

(1)
Laura LeGrow,
July 24, 2000 12:00 AM

I enjoyed your article about Harry Potter very much... it's refreshing to see comments from someone who has obviously read the books! Many people who have commented in the press haven't read a word of them.

I just got married and have an important question: Can we eat rice on Passover? My wife grew up eating it, and I did not. Is this just a matter of family tradition?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat (or even possess) chametz all seven days of Passover (Exodus 13:3). "Chametz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) that came into contact with water for more than 18 minutes. Chametz is a serious Torah prohibition, and for that reason we take extra protective measures on Passover to prevent any mistakes.

Hence the category of food called "kitniyot" (sometimes referred to generically as "legumes"). This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chametz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Why?

Products of kitniyot often appear like chametz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chametz). Also, chametz grains may become inadvertently mixed together with kitniyot. Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot were prohibited.

In Jewish law, there is one important distinction between chametz and kitniyot. During Passover, it is forbidden to even have chametz in one's possession (hence the custom of "selling chametz"). Whereas it is permitted to own kitniyot during Passover and even to use it - not for eating - but for things like baby powder which contains cornstarch. Similarly, someone who is sick is allowed to take medicine containing kitniyot.

What about derivatives of kitniyot - e.g. corn oil, peanut oil, etc? This is a difference of opinion. Many will use kitniyot-based oils on Passover, while others are strict and only use olive or walnut oil.

Finally, there is one product called "quinoa" (pronounced "ken-wah" or "kin-o-ah") that is permitted on Passover even for Ashkenazim. Although it resembles a grain, it is technically a grass, and was never included in the prohibition against kitniyot. It is prepared like rice and has a very high protein content. (It's excellent in "cholent" stew!) In the United States and elsewhere, mainstream kosher supervision agencies certify it "Kosher for Passover" -- look for the label.

Interestingly, the Sefardi Jewish community does not have a prohibition against kitniyot. This creates the strange situation, for example, where one family could be eating rice on Passover - when their neighbors will not. So am I going to guess here that you are Ashkenazi and your wife is Sefardi. Am I right?

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270), known as Nachmanides, and by the acronym of his name, Ramban. Born in Spain, he was a physician by trade, but was best-known for authoring brilliant commentaries on the Bible, Talmud, and philosophy. In 1263, King James of Spain authorized a disputation (religious debate) between Nachmanides and a Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. Nachmanides reluctantly agreed to take part, only after being assured by the king that he would have full freedom of expression. Nachmanides won the debate, which earned the king's respect and a prize of 300 gold coins. But this incensed the Church: Nachmanides was charged with blasphemy and he was forced to flee Spain. So at age 72, Nachmanides moved to Jerusalem. He was struck by the desolation in the Holy City -- there were so few Jews that he could not even find a minyan to pray. Nachmanides immediately set about rebuilding the Jewish community. The Ramban Synagogue stands today in Jerusalem's Old City, a living testimony to his efforts.

It's easy to be intimidated by mean people. See through their mask. Underneath is an insecure and unhappy person. They are alienated from others because they are alienated from themselves.

Have compassion for them. Not pity, not condemning, not fear, but compassion. Feel for their suffering. Identify with their core humanity. You might be able to influence them for the good. You might not. Either way your compassion frees you from their destructiveness. And if you would like to help them change, compassion gives you a chance to succeed.

It is the nature of a person to be influenced by his fellows and comrades (Rambam, Hil. De'os 6:1).

We can never escape the influence of our environment. Our life-style impacts upon us and, as if by osmosis, penetrates our skin and becomes part of us.

Our environment today is thoroughly computerized. Computer intelligence is no longer a science-fiction fantasy, but an everyday occurrence. Some computers can even carry out complete interviews. The computer asks questions, receives answers, interprets these answers, and uses its newly acquired information to ask new questions.

Still, while computers may be able to think, they cannot feel. The uniqueness of human beings is therefore no longer in their intellect, but in their emotions.

We must be extremely careful not to allow ourselves to become human computers that are devoid of feelings. Our culture is in danger of losing this essential aspect of humanity, remaining only with intellect. Because we communicate so much with unfeeling computers, we are in danger of becoming disconnected from our own feelings and oblivious to the feelings of others.

As we check in at our jobs, and the computer on our desk greets us with, "Good morning, Mr. Smith. Today is Wednesday, and here is the agenda for today," let us remember that this machine may indeed be brilliant, but it cannot laugh or cry. It cannot be happy if we succeed, or sad if we fail.

Today I shall...

try to remain a human being in every way - by keeping in touch with my own feelings and being sensitive to the feelings of others.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...